Where are you when the best part of your day is jumps time? Probably at an Aquamania swimming lesson, where the last few minutes of every lesson are usually devoted to the sheer joy of jumping into a pool ? safely monitored by qualified instructors, of course.

Aquamania Swimming, Ltd. (www.aquamania.bm) is the largest learn-to-swim programme on the Island, and it is all the brainchild of one woman, former Saltus gym teacher Lesley White.

Mrs. White began her teaching career with the Harbour Swim Club in 1979 under the tuition of then-Harbour coach Gareth Davis, when she was still known as Lesley Cherry.

She taught with Harbour for the two months of the summer during her high school years. In May of 1986, however, she returned home for summer from Dalhousie University, where she did a degree in PhysEd and a Masters in Education.

Harbour Club did not begin lessons until July, however, and Mrs. White found herself in need of a job for two extra months in the summer ? and so Aquamania was born.

Though she started with just one pool, by 1995 Aquamania had grown to multiple pools around the Island, a crew of instructors hired and trained by Mrs. White, and an expansion of programmes to include lessons in July, in May (the infamous "Polar Bear" series), and even into September.

And in 2004 it is still going strong.

Breaking it down to basics, the programme is taught in backyard pools around the Island kindly donated to Aquamania for the mornings or afternoons. There are usually five or so instructors at each pool, with a head and assistant head, and the instructors teach small classes averaging two children per instructor, or ten per class. Recognised by the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) in the UK, the programme uses a badge system to teach children the different skills involved in water safety and learning to swim.

Aquatots classes for babies aged 18-36 months has parents in the water with their children, teaching them skills to teach their children.

Aquamania also offers morning programmes specifically for the Island's preschools, and the public programme then runs in the afternoons with half-hour lessons. New intermediate and advanced programmes were introduced in recent years to help students fine-tune their strokes and learn personal water safety skills, taking the Aquamania day up until 7.30 p.m.

Last year yet another aspect of Aquamania was introduced: transitional classes designed bridge the gap between, as Mrs. White described it, "swimming in a small backyard pool and the strokework (used by competitive swimmers in clubs)".

Still held in the small backyard pools, the programme works on enhancing strokes and is used as a stepping stone into the intermediate/advanced classes.

Aquamania was big enough for Mrs. White to leave teaching with Harbour Club in 1992, and grew so much ? up to more than 20 pools around the Island in 2004 ? that she was eventually forced to take over more of the administration, leaving the teaching itself to her instructors. Now she teaches the Aquatots and transitional classes only.

The Aquamania instructors are a lively crew. "They're great," Mrs. White, now married to Olympic star class sailor Lee White, said.

"Fantastic, committed, very enthusiastic, willing to learn, and love children ? that's the important thing.

hey're water rats, most of them, and they're just a nice bunch of people. Their parents are very supportive too... It's a tough schedule, they start before nine and some of them work until 7.30 p.m."

Mrs. White also pays her instructors perhaps the biggest compliment an expert swimming teacher can: all three of her children, Kelsey, Conor and Katie, are in the Aquamania programme.

Most of the instructors are in high school with several in university and a few particularly special "old guard" ? or "old fogeys", as Mrs. White jokingly called them ? who have taught with her for close to a decade.

In fact, some of the newer instructors at Aquamania were taught to swim by the older ones, and Mrs. White herself taught many of the older ones in the early days of Aquamania. "It's a big joy for me, to be able to give these instructors a job for the summer that they enjoy."

Aside from their hard-earned teaching skills, the instructors are also very good at making fools of themselves for the benefit of their students. "They sing alot, they play games and do poems," Mrs. White said. Often children learn important skills cleverly disguised as games, and games and jumps time are often the highlights of Aquamania life ? for the instructors as well as the students.

The most important part, however ? the shining moment for the children ? is the lollipops. Though children receive certificates and badges at the conclusion of every programme, it is the lollipops that come with those rewards that they are after. "Sometimes they walk right by the certificates to the lollipop bag," Mrs. White said. "It's pretty funny."

Younger, new instructors usually train through a mini-workshop and alongside a senior instructor, and every pool has both a head instructor and an assistant head. All the head and assistant head instructors have their Red Cross, CPR and First Aid qualifications (courses which Mrs. White also offers to the general public), and are also certified through NARS (National Aquatic Rescue Standard), a UK lifesaving programme specifically tailored for swimming instructors. The younger instructors are all working towards those qualifications this summer.

Safety is a big theme at Aquamania. For example, "monkeyclimbing" ? a technique whereby kids are taught to hold on to the side of the pool ? is a popular activity, especially as most pool accidents occur just a few feet away from the poolside. Head instructors also strive to set up every lesson so that at least one instructor can sit as "eyes", or a lifeguard, on the pool deck.

The attention to safety has already paid off immeasurably. Mrs. White described one instance when a young child fell into her pool at home while the parents were away from the pool side. Though the child could not yet swim, she knew enough to spin around and grab the side of the pool ? one of the first skills children are taught at Aquamania. "That's the initial goal," Mrs. White said, "teaching water safety."

And, in 2001, another Aquamania student made headlines when he saved his sister's life. Six-year old George Dragonetti spotted his two-year old sister, Kate, floating face down in the family pool that summer. He successfully pulled her from the water and called for help.

Sun protection is another aspect of safety that is rigourously drilled into the minds of Aquamania instructors by their boss.

Instructors are encouraged to wear Aquamania sun protection suits and hats, though shades are often not recommended while teaching as they do not allow children to see the instructor's eyes ? a factor which can be sometimes intimidating. Parents also often dress their children in sun suits and are encouraged to apply suntan lotion before the lesson begins.

Nicknames are a big part of Aquamania life. "There was one kid we called 'The Rock' ? he's in university now," Mrs. White said. "We called him that because one day he jumped off the diving board during jumps time, and, though I was waiting below to catch him he went right through both my arms and my legs.

"I looked down and there he was, sitting on the bottom, looking up at me. I dove down and picked him up, and he said: 'Again!' He ended up swimming perfectly."

Aquamania has taken children with all kinds of special needs: children who are blind, deaf, have spina bifida, cerebral palsy, have developmental delays, are premature babies, and have Down's syndrome or autism are among those who have passed through or are currently in the programme.

Aquamania aims to increase the confidence of children in the water, but also to teach children to respect the water and understand when to use caution. Though the programme does guarantee progress, that progress is different for every student, Mrs. White said. "Everybody learns at a different pace. It's like learning to read or write, or walk.

"Every child has good qualities," she said. "The best part about this is just the joy of seeing them ace something. When you have a child who won't put their face underwater for the first lesson, even if it takes until the eighth lesson for them to do it ? that's a big feat."